You remember Mamma Mia? Well, this outing lets us know how the young Donna managed to have sex with three different guys in the same week, and then how her life pans out on the Greek island. And now – in the film’s present (maybe 2005) – Sophie, her daughter, has rebuilt the hotel in memory of her mother who has died, and has invited a lot of important people including her two fathers who are not on the island to the opening; but it seems that they are going to be unable to attend, and after a storm which wipes out communications, nor is anyone else. But her mother’s two best friends made it, so does it matter?

Content.

A lot of Abba songs, some of which I did not recognise, shoehorned into the dialogue of a pretty limited script. Some bewilderingly large set pieces, involving dancers by the hundred and some tumblers. Songs sung (badly) by the participants in both time frames at once. A bit of time spent on a variety of small craft, some of them looking a bit dodgy. No nudity, but some rude comments, no sex but implications that it has happened. No actual drinking, but much booze about.

A View

I know I’m in the minority, but I thought it was awful. After many years I remain an Abba fan, but most of these songs have never been hits and were sung out of context, because the Abba catalogue charts the disintegration of the relationships within the group. The original film used the stage show’s story and was filmed in the Greek islands. Sadly this outing was filmed in Croatia, and I think mostly on the sound stages at Shepperton.